I'd be way too scared to use a dental scaler on my dog with how much he squirms. I'd be too afraid that I'd poke his mouth and make the problem way worse >.<

I would recommend a product called DentaSure. It's all-natural and alcohol-free. Comes in a spray or gel form, depending how willing your dog is to let you work in his mouth. I personally use the spray on my dog and the gel on my cats (because they're afraid of the "spraying" sound). Just my 2 cents, good luck to you! I know how important dog dentalcare is~

I used to hand descale my dog's teeth a couple of times a year, before I started regular toothbrushing, though I never let them get bad before I did it.

They were very good about keeping still but you could cause a nasty infected gash in their gum or your hand if they suddenly flinched.

I would always polish afterwards with tooth polish and damp cotten wool until I could feel the tooth was smooth and polished.

Since starting daily toothbrushing several years ago I have not needed to descale.

Descaling will not deal with any loose or decaying teeth and is only really at all practical on the outer surfaces.

I would check they will very happily tolerant toothbrushing and you scraping with e.g. a fingernail, before considering descaling to check they won't move, due to the risk of hurting someone if they wriggle or flinch. Some dogs have ticklish gums.

If he was mine, I'd have the vets do it and then start the brushing etc routine after that.

In the end I never used the de-scaler but tried the thumbnail technique (fairly successful) and brushing with Logic gel. By the way, this costs nearly £13 in a major pet shop chain (!) but from the internet source where I buy most of my pet requirements it was half that - and free delivery for orders over £19.

Recently Bowen had a bout of kennel cough and I had to take him to the PDSA where they also checked his teeth and said they were ok, that he had "Greyhound teeth" and as long as they weren't causing him any bother to just keep an eye on them. His breath smells fine too. I have been trying to interest him in pigs' ears on the advice of my Greyhound walking group but he finds them boring.

I compare his teeth to other Greys of a similar age in my group and his are not too bad really.

Thanks for all your advice and suggestions.

I use Logic on mine too. I just use my finger and rub it over their teeth. Doesn't take long at all.

Molly at 8 years old (has never been raw fed) and has fantastic teeth. We've had her since a puppy. Though she did break a tooth and it had to be removed because of that. I think she broke it on a bone. All her other teeth are fine though.

Roxy's teeth were disgusting when we got her at 5.5 years old and she had to have a scale and polish the vets and we have had to keep on top of it since then. She's 11.5, still has all her teeth and just has a bit of tartar on the back ones, but her teeth are great for her age - even the Glasgow Vet School were impressed and said she did not need a scale and polish, after I asked them to check her teeth when she was under sedation recently. I thought she might've done but they said she didn't.